Five of the Hoosiers’ last seven games have been victories to keep their season alive.
Wednesday night at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey, Indiana picked up its fifth conference win of the season against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 79-69.
Shay Ciezki, again, with over 20 points, continued to lead the way for IU in her 40 minutes of play. But it was a team effort Wednesday. Four of the Hoosiers’ starters finished in double figures. Maya Makalusky finished with 19 and four made threes. Navaeh Caffey got in there with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting and six rebounds. And Lenee Beaumont finished the game with 12 points and four assists on efficient shooting. Meanwhile Edessa Noyan grabbed 15 boards including multiple offensive boards late in the game to secure the victory.
Despite the starters coming to play, head coach Teri Moren had praise for senior Jerni Kiaku off the bench.
“[Kiaku] was the most important player in the game…” Moren said. “I thought when Jerni came in, she just did some really, really good things for us in the short amount of time she was in there. But they were critical moments and gave us some life. Especially with the push all the way to the rim and the and-one. That was really big for us.”
Those moments Moren mentioned where Kiaku gave Indiana life came in the fourth quarter. In what had been a contested battle throughout, the Hoosiers trailed by three with eight minutes remaining. Kiaku drove down towards the rim and knocked down the short-range bucket to bring the deficit to one. Rutgers’ Zachara Perkins, who led the Scarlet Knights with 15 points, came down on the other end and scored a layup herself, pushing the Rutgers lead to three. A minute later, Kiaku found herself on a fastbreak, went up for a layup with contact — count it and the foul. Kiaku would knock down the free throw to tie the game at 64 with under six minutes to go. It was a moment that truly turned the tide.
Before this, Indiana had trailed the vast majority of the game. In the first, Rutgers got off to a hot start and held a lead of 10 at multiple points in the opening frame. Indiana would tie it up late, then give up some points. This back-and-forth between being down by a handful of points and tying the game up continued multiple times.
In each quarter, there had been multiple scores that gave Rutgers a lead, then Indiana would chip away and tie it back up. But these moments by Kiaku were what got Indiana going in the fourth which led to their first true lead of the game that would carry on until the clock hit zero seconds.
With an appearance at the Big Ten Tournament on the line, Moren’s squad made sure to walk out of Piscataway with a victory. When asked about her team’s play in the month of February and where she feels like her team is at in the season, she had this to say.
“I do feel like we’re playing better. These guys understand what they have to do in order to get into the Big Ten Tournament…We’re playing better basketball and I think they feel it which is the most important thing,” Moren said.
And this season is not over. Moren called upon her team to give it everything they’ve got in their final game against Penn State.
“We can’t come out like we did tonight against Penn State and think that we’re good,” Moren said. “We just can’t do that. Our sense of urgency, our focus, our ability to take better care of the ball, discernment for what a good shot is for us, it all matters. I think this was a great wake up call for our group.”
Indiana’s chances of a Big Ten Tournament berth will have to wait another day. With Penn State picking up a victory of its own Wednesday against the USC Trojans, Indiana will need one more victory to punch its ticket to Indianapolis.
Saturday afternoon will be a thriller. Big Ten Tournament berth is on the line. Final game of the regular season. Final game at Assembly Hall for seniors Kiaku and Ciezki. And Ciezki playing against her former team before she transferred to IU.
Everything will be on the line.
